Anpanman Facts: Learn Everything About The Majestic Superhero

The Anpanman universe is a very fascinating one and is loved by many!

Anpanman is a Japanese fictional character who was born out of sheer coincidence. This superhero is now seen in many forms and has lots of merchandise as well.

The Anpanman fan club is a testament to this hero's popularity. What makes this hero special is the fact that Anpanman is not the quintessential hero who would solve all issues at the snap of his fingers.

Quite on the contrary, Anpanman spends his time trying to make people happy.

His skills are limited and he needs his head to be 're-baked' at the end of each day since the bun starts wearing off after a day of saving the world. Keep reading to learn more facts about Anpanman and why he continues to be famous all over the world even after so many years of creation!

Anpanman's Powers

Creating a children's superhero character may sound easy enough but the fact remains that making such characters takes a lot of thought.

Takashi Yanase, Anpanman's fictional creator, was able to create a very humble character, who does not instill any wrong values in the impressionable minds of his viewers.

The powers that Anpanman has are limited, which is one of the many ways in which he is just like us. Except for a kick and a punch that Anpanman can throw, there are no such powers that would set this hero apart from the rest of the world in terms of physical strength.

However, the pure genius of the creator is revealed through how he is able to highlight the overlooked aspects of a superhero.

There are many powers that are not presented in the traditional superheroes, which is why children often develop wrong ideas of heroism. Anpanman, on the other hand, is presented as a very humble and relatively weak hero who seeks people's help.

While the An-punch and An-kick surely are very powerful in themselves, the most striking power that Anpanman has is that he is capable of unmatched compassion.

This hero tries to save the world from bad people such as Baikinman. Anpanman teaches children the importance of wanting to do good, and also that being the all-powerful superhero is unnecessary and often unattainable.

At the end of the day, when Baikinman is defeated and his plans are ruined, Anpanman comes back to Uncle Jam in order to have his head replaced with a freshly baked jam bun.

This shows the humane side of heroes and how a regular human being can get tired. Anpanman is successful as a children's superhero since he is able to teach them the values of self-esteem and self-respect, as well as the fact that being all-powerful is absolutely unnecessary in certain matters.

What is highlighted as being important in this anime series is the desire to do good, and make whatever small efforts people are capable of.

Anpanman Anime

One of the most interesting facts about Anpanman is how this character has been able to build a solid fanbase over the years. The Anpanman anime series named 'Go Anpanman' or 'Let's Go!

Anpanman' is an English translation which features this hero and his friends as well as enemies. In the anime series, Anpanman fights his enemies and ruins all their evil plans.

Anpanman's friends are also very important in the series and help him in his heroic deeds. There are a total of three heroes in the anime series, who work towards defeating Baikinman. Translated to English, Baikinman would mean 'Bacteria man' or 'Germ man.'

Baikinman's main motive is to destroy Anpanman's world and he does so in many ways. While the movies have more elaborate plots and graver problems, the anime series features shorter episodes.

In these episodes, Baikinman shows his many evil skills such as theft, and Anpanman saves the day. Baikinman also has an attack and a dialogue that come before each one of his ultimate moves. What remains constant throughout the series is that Anpanman is always able to defeat Baikinman, either with a lot of difficulties or quite simply.

The anime series has been able to be on air through decades and the main factor which comes into play behind this is the large fanbase that the show has. Anpanman has a fanbase which is not limited to a single generation.

The ever-changing and evolving nature of the show and its characters has made it possible for many generations to enjoy the show. New episodes of the series are always coming up, and in them, newer additions are made in terms of characters.

Uncle Jam's character is also central in the show since he is the one who created Anpanman in the first place.

Every time Anpanman's head is wearing off, Uncle Jam replaces it with a freshly baked bun, which makes our favorite superhero capable of taking on the next day.

Uncle Jam is no stranger to Baikinman's antics either and often falls victim to his plans. Uncle Jam and his bakery are common images in the anime series, and remain unchanged even though the show itself has changed hands in terms of the production and voice artist crew.

Keeping the essence of the series constant even after such changes have taken place, is another thing that has kept people coming back for more Anpanman episodes.

The first anime adaptation of Takashi Yanase's work was created in 1979, wherein a single episode was aired. The essential aspects of the picture book were retained and the essence was the same as the one that we see in any of the anime episodes in the present day.

The second adaptation of Anpanman is the one that we continue to see till the present day. This anime adaptation of the picture book series started in 1988 and has been airing since.

There was a little issue in terms of having the voice artists work on the show due to the 2020 pandemic, but once the situation stabilized a little, the voice artists started their work again.

The break was only for a few years and apart from this, there have been no major halts in the creation or airing of the show.

Understandably, for an anime series to be airing for such a long span of time, people would have to love it with all their hearts. Anpanman's fanbase has been consistent over the years, which has allowed the producers and creative directors of the show to keep up with their work.

The anime series has many beautiful features such as a catchy theme song and sound effects which remain in people's brains even when they haven't kept in touch with the show itself. The fact that the show has been running for over three decades ensures that its popularity spans through different generations.

There are around 1500+ episodes of Anpanman that people are free to watch on different platforms all over the world!

Anpanman Books

The Anpanman picture books and manga were created by Takashi Yanase. He became a legend for the creation of this humble hero. However, the reason behind the development of the character and the series by extension is quite sad.

During World War II, Takashi Yanase had faced extreme starvation along with many other people of Japan. This made him reminisce about the days when he was able to have 'anpan,' which is a very famous kind of bread in Japan. This was his inspiration for the creation of Anpanman.

Along with the 150 picture books that were published, Takashi Yanase also created three manga series of characters. These were named 'Nekketsu Märchen Kaiketsu Anpanman,' 'Anpanman' and 'Tobe!

Anpanman' respectively. The manga was also very famous and further added to the fanbase. They were released between 1975-1994.Until his death in 2013, Takashi Yanase kept creating more and more Anpanman picture books.

Theme Music Of Anpanman

The theme song of Anpanman is named Anpanman's March and is very popular among people of all age groups in Japan. The song is catchy, which is how it has managed to stick around even after so many years of being aired for the first time.
 

FAQs

Why did BTS sing about Anpanman?

Anpanman is a very popular cartoon or animate character, who has been winning over children and adults alike. The BTS song about this main character is a testament to Anpanman's popularity.

BTS is thought to have chosen the hero of this animated series to write a song since Anpanman is not the quintessential hero.

Unlike the other heroes who hardly have any weaknesses and are portrayed as the strongest ones to ever exist.

The BTS album in which this song appeared was one that upheld the ideas of self-love and self-esteem. This album was created in such a way that the band asked all of its fans to be able to love themselves, irrespective of whether or not they are the strongest.

Anpanman is not the strongest, neither does he have amazing powers which can beat everyone: but he still defends what he believes in and loves everyone. BTS's song is about everyone needs to love and respect themselves even if they are not the strongest or the coolest.

BTS also believes that everyone is a superhero in their own rights.

Who is Anpanman's enemy?

Anpanman has only one main enemy, although, with the unending number of characters that are continually introduced in the anime series, viewers are never bored of the action scenes.

Anpanman's enemy's name is 'Baikinman' or 'Germ man.' Maintaining relevance with the fact that the hero of this show is essentially a bread man, the enemy is one who deals with germs and wants to grow mold over everything, thus destroying the world.

The anime version of the storyline is just as interesting as the picture books, which is why young kids are now mostly inclined toward watching the show.

Is Anpanman popular in Korea?

Anpanman sure is a Japanese anime series but this show has gained but popularity in Korea since the latter years of the 20th century. This is further ensured through the fact that a Korean band named BTS made a song about this superhero.

What does Anpanman eat?

Since Anpanman is a person whose head is essentially a red bean jam-filled bun, he does not eat. It is assumed that the red bean jam inside his head is what keeps him full and satisfied.

On the contrary, Anpanman has the habit of giving people a piece of his own head.

Since his head is essentially made of just edible material, he tries to brighten up people's day by giving them something nice to eat.

This gesture that Anpanman often makes is also important to note since most traditional superheroes are only depicted in such a way that gives the impression that they would just deal with the larger problems in people's lives.

When was Anpanman made?

Anpanman is a long-running Japanese story.

This character first appeared in a picture book by Takashi Yanase, who was inspired by his own want to have some bean jam buns while he was away from home. Over the next few decades, Yanase's creation became a very famous fictional character throughout Japan and was eventually turned into an anime series.

This series was then translated into a couple of languages, which added to the fanbase and made the character a globally loved one.

In terms of the story, on the other hand, Anpanman got created when a shooting star made its way into Uncle Jam's bakery while a batch of red bean jam buns was in the making.

These stars were then named 'the stars of life,' and they became synonymous with this character. Anpanman's fictional creator was meticulous in terms of the creation of this character and all the hundreds of other supporting roles that come up in the series, and all the names are relevant to the psyche of the character itself.

This keeps the fanbase entertained and is one of the main factors which has inspired Anpanman merchandise to sell out rapidly throughout the years of their existence.